Being able to control you blood sugar levels is the most important factor in diabetes. Luckily, there are many diabetic diet guidelines available for diabetics to follow. There are useful diabetic diet guidelines listed below which can help you to maintain a healthy diabetic diet. You can also visit the American Diabetes Association’s website, Diabetes.org, and the website of the National Institutes of Health, Health.NIH.gov, for more diabetic diet guidelines. However, to begin learning more about diabetic health, please review the following:
- Contrary to popular belief, a diabetes diet is not a restrictive diet. It involves making lasting lifestyle changes aimed toward steadying blood sugar levels, lowering cholesterol and caloric intake, and reducing weight or weight gain.
- One of the simplest ways to take better control of your blood sugar levels is to switch from eating simple carbohydrates, such as white enriched bread, to complex carbohydrates, such as whole wheat bread.
- According to Diabetes.WebMD.com, losing just 10 to 15 pounds can help you to lower your blood sugar, reduce blood pressure, improve your cholesterol levels, and reduce your cholesterol levels. In most cases you can accomplish this by simply watching your caloric intake and eating smaller portions of food.
Pre Diabetic Diet Guidelines
In a matter of speaking, you are fairly lucky if you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes because you have a chance to either slow the advancement of your diabetes or possible stop it altogether. If you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, it is best that you begin a diabetes diet and follow the diabetes dietary guidelines listed above. You should also work towards getting down to, and maintaining, a healthy weight as soon as possible. In order to achieve, you should take time to understand what types of foods cause your body to gain weight.
Most people don’t realize that there is a difference between ‘healthy fats’ and ‘unhealthy fats’. Saturated fats and trans fats are considered unhealthy fats. Saturated fats are found in foods such as high-fat dairy products like full-fat cheese, cream, and whole milk. They are also found in high-fat meats like regular ground beef, hot dogs, bologna, and bacon. You do need to include a very small amount of saturated fat in your diet. However, trans fats should be avoided completely. Trans fats are most often found in processed foods such as crackers and chips and baked goods made with hydrogenated oils.
Healthy fats can be found in foods like nuts, seeds, olives, avocados, and the products derived from these. Fish which are high in omega-3 fatty acids are also good for you. Keep in mind that although these types of fats are healthy for you in some ways, they will cause you to gain weight if eaten in excess.
